Bombshell Report Released Days Before Buffalo Attack Shows 1 in 3 Americans Believe ‘Replacement Theory’

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A bombshell report released just days before the racist Buffalo mass shooting shows a stunning one-third of Americans believe the “replacement theory” cited by the alleged killer.

Saturday’s terrifying racist attack allegedly carried out by an 18-year-old White man named Payton Gendron claimed the lives of ten people, and according to the shooter, was motivated by “replacement theory.”

Just days earlier, an Associated Press/NORC study was released showing that belief in the elements of that theory — which has been promoted by Fox News and a host of  Republican personalities, elected officials, and candidates — has taken hold with a significant number of Americans.

Respondents to the survey were asked “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: There is a group of people in this country who are trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants who agree with their political views.”

The results were sobering. From the study:

(R)oughly one in three (32%) adults agree that a group of people is trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants for electoral gains. A similar share (29%) also express concern that an increase in immigration is leading to to native-born Americans losing economic, political, and cultural influence. These two key measures tap into the core arguments of Replacement Theory, a decades old idea, which posits that there is a group of powerful people in this country who are trying to permanently alter the culture and voting strength of native-born Americans by bringing in large groups of immigrants – the study indicates about one in five (17%) adults agree with both of these central tenets.

The authors take great pains to emphasize divides between “high conspiratorial thinkers” and “low conspiratorial thinkers,” but there were stark partisan divides evident in the data.

For example:

• About a third (32%) of all Republicans register as high conspiratorial thinkers, compared to about a quarter of Democrats (24%) and independents (25%).
• 50% of high conspiratorial thinkers fear immigration will trigger economic and political losses – 36% of Republicans and 26% of Democrats share this view.
• Nearly 6 in 10 (59%) white high conspiratorial thinkers identify as Republicans and more than half (51%) voted for Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, while white low conspiratorial thinkers were as likely to vote for Donald Trump as they were Joe Biden (34% each).
• Republicans are more likely than Democrats and independents to perceive a general loss of influence as a consequence of immigration (36% vs. 27% and 21%), and to believe that a group of people in this country are trying to replace native-born Americans with immigrants who agree with their political views (47% vs. 22% and 22%), two key measures of Replacement Theory. Further, nearly a quarter (24%) of Republicans fear discrimination against white Americans at the ballot box, compared to 17% of Democrats and 14% of Independents.

One facet of replacement theory that is ignored in the study is the anti-Semitic belief that the “replacement” in question is being conducted or controlled by Jewish people, a belief that was evidenced by the chants of “Jews will not replace us!” in Charlottesville.